410 



tJLKANIN(JS IN MKIO CULTURI-:. 



May 



brisk competition that is now kept up in all 

 kinds of business is sucli that you will surely 

 fail if you are guilty .©f this kind of folly. 

 There may be circumstances, it is true, 

 to justify doing differently from what I 

 have just intimated ; but bend your whole 

 energies to the work of deciding how you 

 can accomplish most with the least expense. 

 Do not put great stout horses on work that 

 can be just as well accomplished with one 

 horse, and a light one at that; and don't set 

 a great stout man at something that a child 

 can do better and quicker. Children enjoy 

 work if their work is planned wisely for 

 them ; and they are far happier when doing 

 good somewhere, than if left to their own 

 devices. 



Perhaps you object to all this fuss to get 

 your ground ready for a crop. Well, it is 

 true you can go along and put in your seed 

 after the usual plan, and raise a crop ; but, 

 my friend, if you are going to raise a crop 

 that will bring you $1000 for the proceeds of 

 a single acre, you have got to put labor and 

 capital on that crop. To-day our market- 

 wagon is selling heads of Boston market 

 lettuce at the rate of forty or fifty a day in 

 our small town of only about 2000 inhabit- 

 ants. Tlie largest heads bring from 10 to 

 15 cts. This morning I myself cut two 

 heads that weighed U lbs. each. Now, we 

 have never been in the habit of using very 

 much lettuce at our house. My wife has 

 often objected, because it was so much 

 trouble, especially when I brought in a lot 

 of lettuce just before breakfast was ready. 

 Since we have got to having single heads 

 that weigh a pound, however, she says the 

 easy is entirely different, for all she has to 

 do is to strip off a few of the outside leaves, 

 and the interior of the head is cleaner and 

 nicer than any wasliing can make it. It is 

 no trouble at all to fit it for the table, and I 

 can assure you it is no trouble to dispose of 

 it after it is on the table. The secret of 

 getting these large, beautiful, crisp, delicious 

 heads of lettuce is, however, fine tilth and 

 lots of manure. Such heads of lettuce can 

 be easily raised for the market so as to be 

 ready every day in the year ; and I imagine 

 it would be a pretty hard matter to over- 

 stock almost any market. Here is a crop 

 that will bring you money every day in the 

 year, and yet it has almost no insect ene- 

 mies, and is almost sure if you have your 



To he continued 



ground in proper order. Now, what do you 

 suppose an acre of such lettuce will bring? 

 And after you get your ground in trim to ' 

 raise heads of lettuce that Avill weigh over a 

 pound, on every square foot of its surface, it 

 will yield an enormous crop of any thing. 

 Just figure up the number of square feet in 

 a mile ; cut off one figure, and you have the 

 number of dollars per acre tliat your stuff 

 ought to sell for. Very likely you urge that 

 no such an amount as an acre will grow or 

 can be sold in a locality. That may be true, 

 and then it may not be true. When you get 

 more than your home market will take, just 

 send samples to the right kind of a man in 

 some large city. As an illustration : We 

 found we had more '" Jersey Wakefield " 

 cabbage-plants than would be wanted in 

 Medina. We did not write to the city of 

 Cleveland to see if they wanted any. We 

 simply sent a basketful of plants for their 

 inspection. Here is what the commission 

 house wrote : 



The cabbage-plants arc rather large, but they 

 were taken readily. We can allow you 33 cts. per 

 100 for cabbage, and $1.00 per 100 for tomato. You 

 might send us 500 cabbage-plants ne.vt Monday, if 

 prices suit you, and about 200 tomato. But we 

 need Acme, not Trophy. A. C. K. 



Cleveland, O., May 6, 1886. 



A few days after, comes the following : 



Please express at once 300 Acme tomato-plants 

 at S^l.OO, and 500 Wakefield cabbnge-planls at 30c. 

 Cleveland, O., May 11, 1886. A. C. K. 



Now, friends, please figure out the profits 

 on an acre of ground devoted to cabbage- 

 plants or tomato-plants, at the above prices. 

 It is true, you will need the aid of a green- 

 house, cold frame, or hot-bed, for plant- 

 growing ; but these are not difficult to com- 

 "mand. Please don't imagine, now, that I 

 advise every one to go to raising lettuce, 

 cabbage-plants, and tomato-plants. That is 

 not the idea at all ; but I do recommend that 

 you who are out of employment, spending 

 your time in loafing, or something worse, do 

 get hold of a little piece of ground some- 

 where near you and make it give up the 

 treasures God has wisely placed within your 

 reach. 



We will suppose your ground is under- 

 drained (or, better still, fixed something on 

 the plan of the new agriculture), nicely 

 plowed and harrowed, stones picked off, 

 and every thing ready for the planting of 

 the crop. How shall we put in the seed 't' 

 June 15, ISSG. 



